Where ‘Don’t Say Good Luck’ Was Filmed, and How New Jersey Shaped Its Suburban World

Netflix’s upcoming coming-of-age drama ‘Don’t Say Good Luck’ has generated steady interest ahead of its release, and much of that curiosity extends beyond the story itself and into where the film was actually shot. The film centers on 15-year-old Sophie Birenbaum, who learns her mother’s cancer has returned as terminal just as she is tapped to lead her school’s musical while also navigating her friends entering the world of dating. Julia Hart directed the project, which stars Sunny Sandler, Melanie Lynskey, and Max Greenfield.

Viewers who recognize the film’s suburban streets, school hallways, and family deli are not imagining things, since the production drew from a specific and well documented stretch of New Jersey. Principal photography began on July 2, 2025, and wrapped on September 12, 2025, with most of the filming taking place across northern New Jersey while Jersey City served as the production base.

Filming Locations Across New Jersey

Although the movie presents its setting as one coherent suburban community, the production actually built that world from multiple towns across northern and central New Jersey, including Livingston, Ridgewood, Paramus, Montclair, Cranford, Madison, Jersey City, and at least one stop in Lyndhurst in Bergen County. The New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission’s production records confirm the state as the film’s home base, though Netflix has not released an official shot-by-shot list of every location used.

That patchwork approach is fairly common in film production, since assembling a fictional town from several real ones allows a crew to find the right visual match for each scene rather than being confined to a single physical location. The decision to shoot entirely within New Jersey gives ‘Don’t Say Good Luck’ an authentic suburban texture that would be difficult to recreate on a studio backlot, and it also reflects the broader boom in New Jersey productions driven by the state’s film incentives.

Among the specifically documented addresses is Maple Street in Cranford, New Jersey, which is listed as one of the film’s shooting locations. Paramus Park in Paramus was also used for a mall sequence, a detail confirmed through location credits tied to the production companies Original Headquarters, Range Studios, and Happy Madison Productions.

Sophie Birenbaum’s School and Deli Settings

Two of the film’s most recognizable settings belong to Sophie’s everyday world, her high school and her family’s deli, and both were built from real New Jersey businesses and institutions. Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, New Jersey doubled as the fictional Westridge High School, serving as the backdrop for rehearsals and performances throughout Sophie’s journey.

Montclair High School at 100 Chestnut Street was another education related filming site, with the school’s amphitheater identified as the setting used for the graduation material. Splitting the school scenes between two separate campuses allowed the filmmakers to select whichever space best suited a given moment, rather than forcing every school scene into one location.

Few locations in ‘Don’t Say Good Luck’ are as closely tied to the Birenbaum family as their deli, with the real-world counterpart found at Nana’s Deli and Restaurant on South Livingston Avenue in Livingston. The production reportedly reworked the space to fit the story’s needs, giving the family business its lived-in, neighborhood feel on screen.

Cast and Release Details for the New Jersey Set Drama

Sunny Sandler stars as Sophie Birenbaum, a 15-year-old theater student who unexpectedly wins the lead role of Jenna in her school’s production of ‘Waitress.’ That achievement arrives almost simultaneously with devastating news, as her mother Elizabeth’s cancer has returned and is terminal. Melanie Lynskey and Max Greenfield play Sophie’s parents, with Stephanie Beatriz, Jack Champion, Bebe Neuwirth, Steve Buscemi, and Jon Lovitz rounding out the supporting cast.

The film runs 95 minutes and carries a PG-13 rating tied to some strong language, teenage drinking, and sexual references. The story is inspired by writer Laura Hankin’s real-life experience, blending family drama with the energy of high school theater. Netflix has confirmed that ‘Don’t Say Good Luck’ will be released worldwide on August 14, 2026.

New Jersey’s Growing Role in Streaming Productions

The decision to root ‘Don’t Say Good Luck’ so firmly in one state fits a wider pattern of streaming productions leaning on New Jersey’s suburban geography and production incentives rather than manufacturing a fictional town from scratch. Spreading filming across towns like Livingston, Ridgewood, Cranford, Paramus, and Montclair let the production capture the small architectural and social differences between neighborhoods, which in turn gives the fictional Westridge community a texture that feels specific rather than generic.

For a story built around a teenager trying to hold onto ordinary milestones while her family faces something extraordinary, that grounded, real-world backdrop appears to have been a deliberate choice rather than a logistical afterthought. As ‘Don’t Say Good Luck’ heads toward its August premiere, viewers familiar with these New Jersey towns may find themselves recognizing Sophie’s world street by street, and it will be worth hearing whether local audiences spot their own neighborhoods once the film starts streaming.